Breaking Shackles
by EchoEternal
Summary: One-shot. Birdo has had enough of being Wart's sacrificial minion, and decides to take off from his new headquarters. Will she find her freedom, or will Wart keep her bound to him for life?


Hey, this is just a quick one-shot for the pink dinosaur, Birdo. Once, she served an evil king named Wart. Ever wonder how an escape might have gone?

* * *

Late at night, in a dark, forgotten fortress, a pink dinosaur moves quickly about her room. She grabbed her long red bow and tied it tight around the back of her head. With a scratch against her funnel-shaped snout, she bolted out the door, grabbed a large white turnip on the way out.

She moved quickly through the halls, silent enough to slip past night guards. The pink dinosaur made her way to the front gate, when a voice hissed out at her, "Stop right there, Birdo!"

The dinosaur stopped, spun on her heels, and fired an egg from her funnel-snout. A large gray mouse with pink gloves, boots, and black sunglasses, rolled out of the launched egg's way, and pulled out a bomb of his own.

Birdo snapped, "You seriously think you can stop me, Mouser?"

"Don't make me do this, Birdo," fired back the mouse, ready to light the bomb. "You know I'll win this."

"Right, in the dark with those shades on," Birdo scoffed. "I've come this far to lose a fight with a blind mouse."

Mouser grinded his teeth before lighting the bomb, but a small bubble floated over to the fuse. It popped and extinguished the flame. Confused, Mouser dropped the bomb and pulled out another, but waited to light it. He smirked at Birdo, who had also ceased fire.

"You're in for it now, pal," Mouser cackled.

As he continued to laugh, a frog, twice the size of Birdo and Mouser, strolled into the room. He wore a long blue and gold cape, with a golden pendant that hung around his neck and rested down by his white belly. His clawed hands scratched the top of his head, as if they reached for something that was no longer there.

The frog looked from Mouser to Birdo, and then let out a heavy sigh. In a more gentle, yet eerie voice, he asked, "Birdo, dear, are you really trying to escape?"

Birdo huffed and held up the turnip. "By any means necessary, Wart."

Wart shook his head. "You're going to stop me with just one Vegetable?"

"You're sorely mistaken if you think this is all I have," Birdo mocked him, and gently bounced the turnip in her hand.

"Why do you want to escape?" Wart questioned. "What are you looking for out there? What could possibly drive you like this?"

"Freedom!" thundered Birdo. "Someone has to make the first move. Someone has to get out of this place and show you that there we're not afraid! Not anymore."

"You should be," hissed Mouser, but Wart held his hand out, and the mouse was silent.

Birdo shook her head. "You see that? That's using fear. That's what a tyrant like you used to keep us here. But you're not a king. Not after those four stopped you. They proved you weren't invincible."

"You wretched little witch," Wart rumbled, his voice now lowered, more venomous. "Just because they managed to save Subcon, just because they stopped me there, do you really think that I'll sit idly by and be left to rot?"

"I don't care what you do next," Birdo snapped. "I've talked with the others though. They're done. We're all sick of being here. Even if you can stop me, anyone else can take my place."

"Cute," Wart sneered. "But where will you go? Will you try to find those foolhardy heroes?"

Birdo pondered for a moment before answering, in a shaky tone, "Maybe I will."

Wart laughed, and Mouser snickered with him. "They never accept you," Wart chuckled. "Not a freak like you. Look at yourself, Birdo, for once. You have a round snout that you fire eggs out of. Your nails on your hands and feet are a frightful and threatening appearance. You're as ugly, no, hideous and sinister, as they come, just like the rest of us here."

Birdo felt her arms slouch, and she trembled at the thoughts of rejection. The world wouldn't accept her appearance, not a chance. She knew that she might never truly find compassion wherever she went. Worst of all, the four heroes that had stopped Wart had fought her too. Could they truly reconcile with her, ever?

"Stay here," Wart's voice softened again, almost hypnotic. "You belong here, just like all of the rest."

The pink dinosaur thought of her sisters-in-arms, of the red and green high ranking officers. She thought of the other Birdo, lost out in the world, hoping that someone would come to find them someday. Quick flashes passed through her head, of the red robed Shy Guys and Snifits that had taken her to find a map to the Mushroom Kingdom, the ones that had risked their lives for freedom. She squeezed the turnip and shook her head.

"No, Wart," she whispered. Then, loudly, and bursting with confidence, she shouted again, "No, Wart! I don't belong here! None of us belong here. I may be the only one standing here now, but know that I am only the first to leave!"

The gate behind her opened, and a red robed figure with a white mask, a Shy Guy, stood by, and waited at the open gate. Wart growled while Mouser lifted the bomb, and readied to light it again.

"Miss Birdo, we're ready," the Shy Guy reported quietly to her.

"You're just a freak," hissed Wart. "I know your past. I know what you were, what you will always be. And no matter how far you get, no matter who leaves, I will hunt each of you down."

"That's if you ever see us again," Birdo coldly shot at him.

Mouser threw the lit bomb forward, but the Shy Guy ran up, tossed a turnip of his own, and knocked the bomb away. It exploded off to the side, and suddenly roused the fort around them. One red Birdo ran out from the top of the stairs in the back, followed by a green Birdo. They watched as the pink one waved to them.

"Birdo, you won't survive," Wart warned her, as she stepped out of the gate with the Shy Guy.

She turned back and shook her head. "I don't need to Wart. I just need to get out of this place. And I'm going now."

"Miss Birdo, we must hurry," the Shy Guy ushered her to move again.

Birdo nodded, and the two ran off into the night, with only the moonlight to guide them. The rest of the fortress was washed over in hushed whispers, as the soldiers all around spread the gossip in a matter of seconds.

"SILENCE!" commanded Wart, and the soldiers ceased their conversations, and bowed to him. He spun about to look for the red and green Birdo duo, both who had vanished from the stairs.

Mouser tugged at his cape. "Orders, sir? Should I go after them, bombs blazing?"

"No," Wart murmured. "They'll be the messengers."

"Messengers?" inquired Mouser. "For what?"

Wart began to walk away, and only uttered, "You'll know when the time comes."

Under the stars, quickly along the dirt trail, Birdo and the Shy Guy ran far from the dark fortress. Once they were a good distance, she stopped and looked back.

"Miss Birdo, we must keep going," the Shy Guy called, who hadn't stopped until he realized that he ran a few paces away from Birdo.

She turned back to him, worried. "Why aren't they even trying to chase us?" she questioned. "They let us go."

"There will be other days to worry about that," Shy Guy assured her. "But right now, we really need to go! The captain is waiting to take us to the Mushroom Kingdom! He won't wait forever, you know that, so we need to go now!"

He shuffled a few steps forward and waved Birdo on to follow him. She waited a moment, and watched the fortress carefully. After she studied it one last time, Birdo shook her head and chased after Shy Guy, away into the night.

* * *

Hooray, Birdo got away and might have inspired others to follow!

So, after Super Mario Bros. 2, ever notice that Birdo just started showing up as a spin-off game filler character? Not that I'm complaining, and I like having her to round out rosters, but when did she leave Wart's 8-Bit army? Since we're extremely unlikely to ever get an answer, I tried to take it upon myself to answer it.

I figured it was kind of a flight for freedom situation, where Birdo and other rebels would have to make a run for it to be free. Since Wart hasn't showed up since the Mario Bros. games, I like to imagine that he's just biding his time, waiting. (Because it's boring if he's just dead or forgotten.) Mouser seems like the loyal type, whereas Shy Guys and Snifits would flee away with Birdo. (They pop up in later games too, and Shy Guy tends to share positive chemistry with Birdo in Baseball games, so why not?)

This might work as a prologue for a future story that I'm working on, but for now, it'll sit tight as its own little one-shot. Besides, Birdo could use more popularity spotlights on her anyway.

Oh, note: If you're going to point out Birdo's distinct gender as a female in this story and want to pick at that, please re-read and follow carefully. It's a quick mention, but I gave a fair allusion to those who are fans of the male Birdo interpretation. For those of you that like Birdo as a female, well, she's a female throughout the story, and works nicely that way!

Anyhow, thank you for reading this little thing! Hope you enjoyed it! Comments welcome.


End file.
